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Bouwe Bekking, more than 20 years around the world

Posted 2 months, 11 days ago

Bouwe Bekking, more than 20 years around the world
www.Sail-Search.com: Bouwe Bekking is the Sports and Technical Director and skipper of the Spanish team Telefonica for the Volvo Ocean Race 2008/09, and person in charge of the Telefonica Blue, one of the two boats in the team. A very important role, but for who has been involved in around the world races for more than 20 years something Bouwe is more than capable of handling. Logged in Bouwe's memory banks are hundreds of thousands of ocean miles across the waters of the globe, the sights and sounds of tens of stopover ports and the friendship of close to one hundred offshore crewmates. For the Dutch sailor, the involvement in around the world races started back with the Whitbread Round the World Race 1985/1986. This was the breakthrough Bouwe had longed for, after following the twists and turns of this classic contest of man against the elements since its inception in the early 1970s. "At the time, I was racing on a relatively small yacht with an owner had won many national championships in dinghies. He was well known on the scene," Bouwe explains. "We were racing on a circuit with the hottest of the Dutch offshore fleet present. Top notch yachts participating in the biggest ocean races worldwide. Very often, my owner would be chatting with the other owners after racing with me, a young guy, just standing right beside him and sucking in all the information and stories from famous events. It was a great time." Still not quite 20, Bouwe was already a hugely passionate sailor trying to learn as much as he could as fast as he could. "I wriggled myself into the scene by making sure I was there when the big guns arrived before racing or after when they came back to the dock. I would help with fenders and mooring lines, the cleaning up, carrying sails, I tried to show that nothing was too big or too small for me to do. Then, one day early in the morning, I got my chance. A crewmember failed to show up and I was picked off the dock because my face was "known". All of a sudden I became the 'official substitute' crew and got to go racing more and more," continues Bouwe. "Eventually, this resulted in an invite to be onboard for the next season. I started racing as the youngest on a well-known Dutch yacht. I did my first big ocean race with them and we actually won overall and, of course, this did not go unnoticed. When Dirk Nauta, one of the best known offshore racers in Holland, got his sponsorship from the Dutch company, Philips, for the then called Whitbread Round The World Race, I used my friends and contacts to get in touch with him. The result was being one of the first to sign up." Since that Whitbread in 1985/86, Bouwe has participated in other four more of the races and, now, he faces his sixth participation as one of the most experienced sailors in the fleet. "I could write a book about what I have learnt over the years, but two things stand out: first, building and maintaining a good team spirit is a must - you can have the best sailors in the world, but when it doesn't click between them, it will be a long race around the world; second, always keep the big picture in mind - the reality is that there is not always enough preparation time, enough employees or enough money, so you have to be clear in the ultimate goal." From aluminium to pure carbon fibre Bouwe's first participation was onboard a 19-metre aluminium boat built in the Netherlands. At the time it was one of the fastest and most reliable boats in the world, Philips Innovator. After so many years a lot of things have changed, but how much and in what way? "Maybe you could better ask what hasn't changed," he laughs. "Nearly everything has changed," say Bouwe looking more serious, "the boats go more than double speed, resulting in incredible distances sailed over 24 hours. The materials out of which the boats are built have changed from heavy aluminium to lightweight carbon fibre and honeycomb cores. The boats weigh a quarter of their predecessors!" "In terms of competitiveness, all the boats race in the same class: first across the finish line wins and one gains points depending how you do. In the old days you raced on time and used a handicap system. If you had a bad leg you were most probably out of it. Say, for example, you broke your mast. You would arrive a week or more later than the other boats and would struggle to regain that lost time. The handicap system was difficult for the public to understand. A boat that arrived last in the harbour, sometimes days behind the first arrival, could be announced winner on handicap. This time we sail boat for boat: the boat that finishes first on leg is the winner. There are points for every leg. A boat that is not able to finish in a leg can still win the overall trophy, very much like in the Formula 1. We have added scoring gates roughly halfway through a leg where half points get earned. This has helped guarantee the boats stay near the same course line instead of spreading out over the ocean." After being forced to abandon movistar on the leg from New York to Portsmouth (Leg 6 of the last VOR), one could say that Bouwe's experience with the Volvo Open 70 class is complete, although anything but positive. But ask Bouwe about the class and the answer is anything but negative: "The VO 70 class are just the most exciting boats to sail. They are extremely fast and going fast means heaps of fun for us sailors and it creates a great spectacle for the public on television and through stills photography. The race organisation, the designers and the sailors have learned a lot from the first generation boats: a prototype always has its weaknesses. The rules have been changed by the race organisation to ensure greater safety margins; the designers have benefited from the last generation and have learnt where the boundaries lie, and, we the sailors have incorporated lessons learnt from sailing the "old" boats in some of the toughest waters on the planet." One final question remains: what are you looking for in your 6th edition?. Bouwe is clear, "I am looking for podium places for both boats." Bouwe Bekking web site: www.bouwebekking.com Full Story »

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